Europe's top human rights watchdog has expanded its probe into the alleged secret international prison network run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
The Council of Europe said it is investigating whether European airports were used by CIA aircraft transporting prisoners to secret detention centers. The Council is already investigating the existence of alleged CIA prisons in European nations.
Separately, Austria Wednesday said an aircraft suspected of transporting CIA terrorist captives flew though its airspace in 2003.
Austria's Air Force Chief Major General Erich Wolf told Austrian radio that military jets scrambled to intercept the plane that took off from Germany but found nothing wrong and allowed it to proceed to Baku, Azerbaijan.
Press reports say the CIA has been holding and interrogating terrorist suspects at secret detention facilities in several countries abroad, circumventing U.S. laws protecting prisoners.
U.S authorities have refused either to confirm or deny the reports.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
